According to sources close to the player, Minnesota already knew Ricky wouldn't play there when they picked him. Marca.com
The Knicks are about to officially enter the Ricky Rubio sweepstakes. Donnie Walsh revealed on Friday that he intends to call his former assistant, Minnesota GM David Kahn, about the availability of Rubio, the fifth overall pick from Thursday's NBA Draft. Rubio, the highly touted point guard from Spain, would prefer to play in New York. Rubio's father told Marca.com that his son may elect to stay with his club team in Spain for at least another two years. New York Daily News
Minnesota drafted three point guards in the first round, including Jonny Flynn at six. They also drafted Ty Lawson but traded him to Denver. The Knicks could have the inside track on Rubio for several reasons. For one, he wants to play in New York. The other is Walsh's relationship with Kahn that dates back to their days with the Indiana Pacers. Perhaps the Knicks can work out a multi-player deal where they'll trade at least Wilson Chandler to get Rubio. The Knicks may have to include Jordan Hill and take back the contract of Brian Cardinal. New York Daily News
Before Thursday's NBA Draft, Rubio said New York was a "dream city" to play in and the Rubio camp, according to a source, is hopeful the Knicks move in and strike a deal with the T'wolves. Rubio said before the draft the only thing he knew of Minnesota was its cold weather. "I want to play in the NBA. I don't know if it's this year or next year, but we're going to see," Rubio said, according to The Associated Press. "Because, you know, my buyout is big. We are talking about that with my agent and he's working hard." New York Post
“I haven’t spoken to Minnesota, I will," Walsh said. "I don’t know what’s going on there. He took a lot of point guards so I want to ask him, ‘Why did you do that?’ In a way that kind of helped us because that left us with two players that were, in our mind, really good players. I just want to find out.” Newsday
Rubio we're told was desperately hopeful he would somehow wind up with the Knicks and, apparently, is still holding out hope. It is pretty clear that he would immediately report if the Knicks acquired his rights. But, though Walsh says he will check it out, it is still very unlikely to happen. Newsday
